Ben Ding Khoon Yew, general director of Soilbuild International (Vietnam)

At the VIPF 2024 (on July 30), Ben Ding Khoon Yew, general director of Soilbuild International (Vietnam) shared about the experience of developing green and ecological industrial parks (IPs) in Vietnam and other countries, as well as sustainable journey of Soilbuild. "We are paying a lot of attention on sustainable development," he confirmed.

Despite being a new player in Vietnamese market, Soilbuild - an integrated real estate and construction company, has already run for 47 years in Singapore, and presented in Myanmar, the United Kingdom, and Australia with a portfolio of industrial, commercial and residential buildings.

The journey of Soilbuild started in 2010 before sustainability became a key theme in Asia, Solaris@One North, a business hub in Singapore, had achieved the then-highest sustainability standards of Green Mark Platinum in Singapore. Key features include using natural lights and ventilations, building green belts and shields, and water harvesting.

Numerous Soilbuild’s buildings have achieved various standards of Green Mark and LEED Platinum status since then. "We have won bidding of numerous key projects thanks to green factors," Ben emphasised.

With the progression of technologies, the latest Green Mark Platinum building, the Tai Seng Exchange (TSX) in Singapore has integrated technologies into the design, such as wind simulation to optimise ventilation, sensors, lift destination control system, and new generation building management system. Soilbuild obtained a green loan for the building.

As a continuing its sustainability journey, Soilbuild is pushing even higher limits with the next building in Tampines Singapore to obtain Green Mark Platinum SLE (Super Low Energy), which requires more than 60 per cent energy savings. The ultimate goal will be net zero (NE) and positive energy (PE) buildings.

“Coming from Singapore, we have benefited from the adoption of technologies. Through the years, we have been pushing the boundary of our sustainability journey to not only reduce overall energy consumption and emissions but also secure a more sustainable future and resilient urban landscape for future generations. We are committed to promoting sustainable development in Vietnam,” Yew affirmed.

3D design of Spectrum Nghe An ready-built factories and offices

In Vietnam, the first project of the ready-built factory in Nghe An is being built to LEED certification standard, continuing the sustainability journey from its home country Singapore.

“Soilbuild is an early adopter of sustainability. Our approach to integrating ESG (environmental, social, and governmental) policies into its building design emphasises multiplying the green to ensure that sustainability is embedded at every stage of the asset's life cycle—from design to construction, operation and maintenance, and occupiers' operations,” Ben said.

In COP26 (in 2021), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made a commitment to stop deforestation by 2030 and phase out coal-fueled power generation by 2040, with ultimate goal to reach net zero carbon emission target by 2050.

Yew highly appreciated Vietnam to make significant strides in industrial sustainable development, focusing on various sectors such as energy, environment, and social development.

"We see that Vietnam is considering a carbon tax, which is also a good sign. Vietnam's greening roadmap is very encouraging, which helps businesses develop more responsibly," he said. "Numerous companies in the world have conducted annual sustainability reports and this should also be encouraged by the Vietnamese government so that all large- to small-scale companies, everyone should conduct this report annually."

In addition, in order for businesses to participate more deeply in green development, green finance, which has yet to be popular in Vietnam, must also grow. "The government should unified with banks to develop frameworks for implementing this programme, while financial institutions should also create more attractive incentives for stakeholders to focus on green production," he suggested.